Balto: Always With You, My Son: Bonus Scene 1: New Arrivals
Set in between Chapter 7...
During Balto's first day back, Balto and his mate and children were walking around town as a happy family. During their family walk, the friends of Balto's sons and daughters joined him and his family. It was a pleasant time for Balto to be with his mate and children again. As the group of 12 walked around Nome, they found a couple of male huskies that went up to greet them.
"Uh, excuse me." One of the huskies said. "Are you Balto?" He asked, referring to the wolfdog in front of him.
"Why, yes he is." The red husky Jenna answered while smiling at her mate.
"Yes, my name is Balto." The grey wolfdog replied to the young huskies.
"Alright!" The other husky exclaimed in excitement. "Mr. Balto, sorry if my brother and I are interrupting you and your family."
"Nah, you two are alright. You don't need to apologize." Balto replied. "And you can simply call me Balto. I don't mind."
"Balto, by the look of things, it seems like you have two adoring fans." Josh commented, and his companion Saba giggled in amusement. Her siblings also giggled and chuckled as well.
Jenna giggled herself. "Boys, would you like to join us?" She turned to face Balto. "Balto, you wouldn't mind if these young boys join us, would you?"
"No, I don't mind at all." Balto answered back. He turned to get the approval of Saba and her siblings, and they nodded in agreement, and so did their friends.
The husky brothers beamed in excitement, and so they joined Balto, Jenna, and their pups and their friends as they walked around town. Balto's sons and daughters took this time to introduce themselves to the husky brothers. Even the friends of Balto's sons and daughters introduced themselves as well.
"So, what are your names?" Balto asked.
"This my brother, Nathan." The younger husky answered. "However, he likes to go by Nate. My name is Drake."
"Well, nice to meet you Nate, and Drake." Balto said with a smile. "A bit of unusual names for huskies, but regardless, its still nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you and your family too." Nate said.
"No offense, but I don't believe I've ever seen you two before." Dingo commented. "Are you both new here?"
"Yes we are." Drake answered. "My brother and I just moved here with our owners yesterday." He turned to face Balto. "I don't think you've seen us, Balto, but we were there when you came back here yesterday night. My brother and I heard all about you and the serum run that happened 3 years ago. We also heard that you were lost in a blizzard almost 2 weeks ago."
"Looks like my story has truly spread to others outside of Nome. Speaking of which, welcome to Nome!" Balto replied.
"Thank you." Drake said.
"Nate, Drake, where did you move from?" Jenna asked.
"Well, before we get to that," Nate said, "I want you all to know that my brother and I grew up in San Francisco, in the mainland US. A.K.A, the lower 48. We were born in Alaska, don't remember where anymore, but our parents and their owners moved to San Francisco when we were young. We lived their for a bit, until we moved back to Alaska."
"Interesting." Kodi said. "What town?"
"Fairbanks." Drake said. "Balto, its a little farther from where you went to in Nenana."
"Actually, Balto did not get as far as Nenana. Kaltag, his team's former leader, and the rest of the team reached Nenana. Balto found the lost team and lost medicine somewhere on the way back here." Yin corrected.
"Ohhh. I thought he did get to Nenana." Drake replied.
"Yin is correct." Balto said.
"Anyways, my brother and I were sold to new owners when we started moving here a few days ago. Since we moved to Fairbanks, Drake and I took this time to rediscover our Alaskan roots."
"That's nice." Yukon said. "How is it working for you?"
"Well, Nome is a new place for us. We are still taking time to learn how to live in our new house here." Drake answered.
"Boys, I hope we're not keeping you too long from your owners and parents. Speaking of which, I think it would be nice if we can meet your parents when they may be available." Jenna said.
At this point, Nate and his brother lowered their heads and drooped their ears. Balto and his family were caught off guard.
"About that..." Nate began. "You won't be able to meet them. They died not too long before we moved here."
"Oh. I'm so sorry." Jenna sympathized. "Is it alright if I can ask about their names?"
"Sure. Our mom is named Denali. Our dad is Koyuk. They passed away from being sick."
"You two are growing up without your parents." Thunder sympathized.
"Yes we are. It's been really tough." Drake said.
For a while, Nate, Drake, and Balto and his family continued their conversation until Nate and Drake decided to leave the group to continue learning how to live in their new surroundings. Dana offered to accompany them, while Dingo, Josh, and Nunivat also accompanied them, leaving Balto, Jenna, Kodi, Dusty, Yukon, Yin, Saba, and Thunder behind.
As they walked, Dana noticed how Drake was leaning sorrowfully against Nate. She figured that they were still heartbroken over the death of their parents, and having to grow up without them while living in a new town. They stopped in an alley.
"Nate, Drake, we are so sorry for your loss." Nunivat sympathized. "It must be so tough to live without them, while adjusting to living in a new town."
The brothers nodded, and started tearing up and trembling. Dana and Nunivat glanced at each other, then they went to both of the brothers.
"Come here, you." Dana and Nunivat both said as Dana embraced Nate, giving him a warm hug, and Nunivat embraced Drake similarly. Drake even broke down and sobbed deeply into Nunivat's chest. Nate did not sob like Drake did, but tears were streaming down his cheek, and he was trembling in sadness. To comfort them, Nunivat licked the tears from Drake's face, and rubbed his back soothingly with her paw. Dana, however, not only licked the tears from Nate's face, but she also (softly) smothered him with licks and nuzzles across his face, cheek, muzzle, and even nuzzling the side of his neck. The brothers were caught off guard by their affectionate gesture, since they had only met today. Regardless, the brothers did find their presence comforting, and even started liking them. As they calmed down, Dingo stepped with Dana to rub Nate's back, while Josh stepped with Nunivat to comfort Drake similarly.
"Thank you." Nate said to Dana, Nunivat, Dingo, and Josh."
"No problem." Dana spoke up. "Its our pleasure." She turned to face Nunivat, and she nodded.
"You know, Dana, you are really pretty." Nate admired and complimented Dana.
"Yeah, you too, Nunivat." Drake said. The brothers licked Dana and Nunivat's chins respectively.
"Aww. You two are sweet." Dana said, blushing a little bit. Dana softly nuzzled Nate, then he leaned against her chest, and she affectionately stroked the back of Nate's neck with her paw. Nunivat did the same with Drake. Dana smiled at Dingo, secretly expecting that he might feel a little jealous about her and Nate. Afterwards, she and Nunivat let go of Nate and his brother.
"It's really been tough to live without our mom Denali, and dad Koyuk. I'm not sure how we will be able to do so." Nate said.
"No, don't say that it isn't possible." Nunivat said. "If there's anyone who knows what it's like to move to a new town while growing up away from his family, it's Josh.
"Indeed, Nunivat." Josh said, and turned his attention to Nate and Drake. " You two aren't alone. You both will learn to grow up without your parents. I personally am from Anchorage. When I was a bit younger than you two, I was sold to a new owner when I moved to Nome. I was sad that I had to grow up away from both of my parents, and even my two sisters."
"Also, did you know that Balto has also been growing up without his family?" Dingo asked.
"Really?" Nate and his brother asked at the same time, surprised.
"No mistake." Nunivat said. Dingo walked over to Nunivat.
"You see, our dad was separated from his parents when he was a pup. He had no owners, even now. So imagine that he was a pup, growing up by himself with no one to take care of him. He grew up alone... well, not entirely, but he wasn't taken cared off by a human, nor another dog."
"What do you mean, Dingo?" Drake asked.
"It's a bit of a long story." He replied. He, Nunivat, Josh, and Dana began walking out of the alley and onto the streets of town with Nate and Drake as the adults told the husky brothers of Balto's childhood story...
